According to Yonhap News,
(SEOUL=Yonhap News) South Korea and Vietnam opened their first technology cooperation center, which could help Seoul better cope with deteriorating relations with China over the U.S. missile defense deployment standoff, local sources said Sunday.
The Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) said it launched a technology and trade promotion office Friday in cooperation with its Vietnamese counterpart,
The center in Hanoi is the second of its kind after the one set up in Iran.
The cooperation program aims to help South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises utilize their technological know-how to build factories and create businesses in the Southeast Asia nation. Products made can then be shipped abroad, particularly to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Industry watchers have said that with South Korea-China trade relations souring over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense dispute, countries such as Vietnam are becoming more attractive as overseas bases for local companies. The merging of South Korean expertise and skilled Vietnamese workforce is seen as a win-win combination, they said.
"The newly created center can help overcome various protectionism developments, while helping local companies make inroads into the broader Southeast Asian market," the SMBA said.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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Source: Yonhap News (Apr. 2, 2017)